FootballSaturday, October 4, 2019
3B
What to watch for: Iowa
The only real consensus among
pundits and fans about Saturday’s
game against No. 14 Iowa is that it
will be very, very revealing.
In
all
likelihood,
No.
19
Michigan’s true capability as a team
is somewhere between the one
that got run out of Camp Randall
Stadium on Sept. 21 and the one
that shut out Rutgers last Saturday
at the Big House. But where on
that spectrum it is will determine
the direction of its season. Can the
Wolverines achieve the goals they’ve
spent the last two weeks saying are
still attainable? Or is this a team
ticketed for 7-5?
Michigan
under
Harbaugh
has historically been very good in
these types of games. Excluding
Ohio State, a demon all its own, the
Wolverines are 5-1 against ranked
teams at home since 2015, and the
one loss came on a fluke last-second
play against Michigan State in 2015.
But at the same time, Iowa runs a
very similar scheme to Wisconsin,
just without the Heisman candidate
running back, and we all saw how it
went against the Badgers.
Here are some things to keep a
look out for as Michigan tries to get
its season back on track:
Can Michigan score first?
The stat you’ve probably heard by
now is that in the first three games
of the Wolverines’ season, they
fumbled the ball away on the first
drive. But more concerning is that in
each of those games, the Wolverines
subsequently allowed the opponent
to march down the field and score a
touchdown.
Senior tight end Nick Eubanks
said after the Wisconsin game that
it was a mental issue, that allowing
those early touchdowns deflated the
team. In that light, the importance of
the Wolverines scoring first cannot
be overstated.
If Michigan can find the end
zone early, it could give them a
boost of confidence that may well
translate to the rest of the game.
But if the defense falters early, brace
yourselves.
How does Shea Patterson look?
Through
the
season’s
early
goings, the senior quarterback was
some combination of injured and
bad, but he bounced back in a major
way against the Scarlet Knights,
completing 17 of 23 passes for 276
yards and a touchdown. Perhaps
more significantly, Patterson ran for
three more scores — and that was in
just three quarters of work.
The
Wolverines
seemed
to
scheme the offense a little differently
last Saturday, letting Patterson run
around and improvise, making plays
with his arm and his feet. Patterson
isn’t one of those guys who can just
stand in the pocket and let it rip.
And for Patterson more than
other players, the Rutgers game
likely did mean something, because
the way he was utilized was similar
to last year — when Patterson was
objectively a good quarterback.
Especially with backup Dylan
McCaffrey
doubtful
with
a
concussion, Michigan needs Shea
Patterson to play like 2018 Shea
Patterson, like last week’s Shea
Patterson, if it wants to beat a good
team like the Hawkeyes.
Can the defensive line hold up?
In Madison, the Wolverines’
defensive line was pushed around
by a mass of beefy linemen. The bad
news for Michigan is that Iowa also
has a stout offensive line led by two
All-Big Ten tackles in Alaric Jackson
and Tristan Wirfs, both of whom
are over 300 pounds. That’s a tough
assignment for the Wolverines’
undersized front seven.
If
there’s
any
positive
for
Michigan, it’s that the defensive line
that played against Wisconsin isn’t
likely to be the same one that goes
against the Hawkeyes. The 282-
pound senior Michael Dwumfour
was out with an injury two weeks
ago, but he should play on Saturday
and bring some much-needed size
at defensive tackle. That also means
the Wolverines likely have no need to
play Ben Mason, a former fullback,
at the position. Mason, just 270
pounds, struggled in the early games
and appeared on offense against the
Badgers, a potential sign that the
experiment there is over.
Defensive
ends
Kwity
Paye,
Aidan Hutchinson and Michael
Danna have looked good in the early
going, and if they can get to Iowa
quarterback Nate Stanley, it could
cover up for mistakes elsewhere —
but there’s only so much the pass
rush can do to bail out everyone else.
Can Oliver Martin make noise
on the other sideline?
Martin, who hails from Coralville,
Iowa — just northwest of Iowa City
— never quite found a fit at Michigan.
He was buried on the depth chart by
classmates Donovan Peoples-Jones,
Tarik Black and Nico Collins and
had just 11 catches in 2018. In that
light, it’s not hard to see why Martin
transferred to his hometown school
in the offseason. He was granted
immediate eligibility.
Martin hasn’t lit the world on fire
with the Hawkeyes — he has just five
receptions for 28 yards on the season
— but he has a clearer path to more
playing time at Iowa than he did
with the Wolverines.
There don’t seem to be hard
feelings
regarding
Martin’s
departure, but multiple players
mentioned it would be weird seeing
him in black and gold.
“You’ve gotta make the decision
that’s best for you,” said junior wide
receiver Nico Collins. “I wasn’t mad
about it. … He felt like that’s what he
needed to do to chase his goal and he
made that decision. But we’re still
supportive.”
Can
Michigan
contain
AJ
Epenesa?
Google Iowa pass-rusher AJ
Epensa, and one of the top results
is an article that poses the question,
“The next JJ Watt?”
Epenesa is a star. He led the Big
Ten with 10.5 sacks in 2018 and was
named First Team All-Big Ten by
the media. It’ll be up to the offensive
line — which has had its fair share of
struggles lately — to stop him.
Fifth-year
senior
offensive
tackle Jon Runyan looked shaky
in his return from injury against
Wisconsin, but with a few more
games to get back into form, Runyan
could still find a groove.
So, what will be the final score?
It’s Daily tradition to do a
prediction at the end of these things.
But you know what, I’m not going to
do that, because, to be honest, I have
no idea what will happen Saturday.
I buy that Michigan will look
better than in Madison, with key
players back healthy and a friendlier
home environment against a slightly
worse team. But it seems just as likely
that the Wolverines win at home
like they always have, as it does that
they’ll allow an early touchdown
and completely fall apart.
Using
the
highly
scientific
transitive
property
of
football,
Michigan beat Rutgers by 52 and
Middle Tennessee by 19, while Iowa
beat the Scarlet Knights by 30 and
the Blue Raiders by 45. Summing up
those margins of victory, we get……
the Hawkeyes by four. It’s as good as
any guess I could come up with.
One
thing
is
sure,
though.
Whatever happens Saturday, it’ll be
a lot easier to predict the subsequent
games.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson completed 17 of 23 passes last week against Rutgers for 276 yards and a touchdown, along with three rushing touchdowns.
Five questions that will determine the outcome of Michigan’s game Saturday, and possibly its season